Be Still - February 4, 2025

I Timothy 6: 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. (NIV)

Death terminates all wealth.*

Everyone – including nonbelievers - knows that “you can’t take it with you.” But what if you could? What do you possess that you could find a use for in heaven? When you look at it that way, it puts things into perspective and causes you to contemplate the importance of your legacy. There are some things that, though you have to leave them behind, you may be able to reconnect with later.

Those things aren’t things – they’re people.

It’s still true that you can’t take the people you love to heaven with you, but you can help improve their chances of meeting you there. If you are a parent, you are the most influential person in your children’s lives. Leave them a legacy that points them to Jesus. If you don’t have children, adopt some “spiritual” ones. When John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth,” (III John 4) he probably wasn’t referring to his biological family. 

When I get to Heaven, I think God is going to ask me if I brought a bunch of people with me, not if I was right on every issue.*

Be Still - February 3, 2025

Colossians 4: 17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.” (NIV)

We should seize every opportunity to give encouragement. It is oxygen to the soul.*

All we know about Archippus is what we read here and in Philemon 2 ("Archippus our fellow soldier”). It’s amazing that such brief and uninformative mention can generate such varying interpretations. Some commentators believe that poor Archippus was singled out for “censure,” or “reproof,” because of some “slackness” on his part. Wouldn’t that be bad form on Paul’s part? If he needed to scold a “fellow soldier,” would he not have performed the deed personally rather than through a third party? If all we have is conjecture about Paul’s true intentions, then my spin is as good as anyone else's! So . . . here is what I think . . .

It is a fact that ministry is not for sissies and that anyone involved in church work needs encouragement from time to time. Perhaps Archippus was feeling discouraged about a lack of results or he was fed up with petty bickering among church people. At any rate, it is not a stretch to imagine that Paul saw that Archippus was in danger of looking for a “real” job and, recognizing the waste of talent that would be, wished to encourage the Colossians to encourage Archippus. As one writer observed: “When the Colossians spoke up, then Archippus knew his ministry was wanted.”* 

Let me remind you to be an encourager as well. The ministry staff at your church; your small group leader; a missionary; the church secretary, custodian, or bus driver - any of these servants could be on the brink of burn-out until your words of appreciation remind them that their work matters. God may have called Archippus and others like him to be fellow soldiers but he has called all of us to be encouragers.

Oh, and don’t forget to pray for them, too.

Silent gratitude isn’t much good to anyone.*

Be Still - February 2, 2025

Colossians 2: 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. (NIV)

Christ freed us from worrying about whether we are “doing enough” to please God.*

I have heard people say something like, “You’re alright. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.” As if we could stop someone from telling us we’re not alright. I think the same about Paul’s admonition here. How can I stop others from judging me? To help answer the question, I consulted some other sources. Other translations/interpretations for this phrase include: 

· Do not let anyone take you to task. Again, how can I stop them? 

· Don’t let anyone impose his laws on you. Sounds a little more empowered! 

· Allow no one the right to judge and condemn you. You can’t stop them but you can control how you let it affect you. 

· Don’t pay attention to those who would judge you. Human nature is gonna judge. Ignore the haters! 

It’s a strange paradox: people like to make rules, but they also believe that rules are made to be broken. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that people like to impose rules. In this chapter, Paul discusses the defunct Jewish law (Christ “canceled the written code,” verse 14), and the host of man-made addendums that the church at Colosse was trying to compel its members to comply with. Paul doesn’t condemn the observation of feasts or dietary restrictions, but he makes it clear: we are under no obligation to observe the old ways – or any of the newly-devised feasts and holidays. They can’t save us. 

There’s a difference between the legalism that Paul describes in this passage and the obedience required of Christians. When asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus said that all the laws could be summed up in just two of them: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. When your lifestyle is in step with these two mandates, you are free to ignore those haters who want to judge you for not meeting their expectations.

If you maintain these two top priorities – love God and love others – they will guide you in setting all the other priorities in your life.*

Be Still - February 1, 2025

I Corinthians 3: 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? (NIV)

The only ultimate disaster that can befall us . . . is to feel ourselves to be home on earth.*

God knows the heart and potential of everyone. He knows the difference between defiance and doing-the-best-I-can. When he looked down on the Corinthians, perhaps he saw something that Paul didn’t; but from his human perspective, Paul saw a group of Christians who knew better and should be doing better. Their actions spoke of the conditions of their hearts. As Max Lucado characterizes them: “They let God save them, but not change them.”* 

Will God save us if we don’t let him change us? We can never be good enough to earn our salvation, but can we be bad enough to lose it? One writer contends: “The only way we can lose our salvation is to deliberately reject Christ.”* Only God can determine the difference between occasional disobedience and total rejection, but don’t forget that Jesus said, “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” (Luke 6: 44) 

If your actions speak more loudly of rebellion than surrender, then perhaps you, like the Corinthians, are still worldly. Does it alarm you to know that, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts” (I Corinthians 4: 5)? Or can you comfortably claim, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (I Corinthians 4: 4)?

Although he’s extremely patient with us, one day he will hold us accountable for how we’ve lived.*

Be Still - January 31, 2025

Romans 14: 1-22 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. . . . Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. . . . Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. . . . and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (NIV)

[Read the entire chapter.]

If grace is so amazing, why don’t Christians show more of it?*

In the fourteenth chapter of Romans, Paul discusses some matters that were a test of fellowship for some and no big deal to others. Perhaps some of the dos and don’ts and don’t matters resonate with you. It all leads me to reckon that if the lost aren’t repelled right up front by all the rules, they surely begin their new life in Christ laden with the fear that they will never be able to remember what a Christian can and can’t do.

There are plenty of behaviors that Christians should avoid. Sin is always sin. But you don’t tell a newborn baby that he needs to get up and walk on his own two feet, and you don’t tell a newborn Christian that he should immediately be an expert in living a life of obedience. Those who have passed the toddler stage themselves should come alongside their baby brothers and sisters and help them learn to walk by faith.

While the analogy of the baby Christian is fitting, we must keep in mind that new Christians are often adults who not only have a lot to learn – they have a lot to unlearn. The examples in this chapter illustrate what happens when people join the community of believers loaded down with the baggage of their backgrounds and experiences. From knowing nothing, to believing false doctrine, to returning to the fold after a long rebellious period, each newcomer to the church is at a different mile marker on the road to salvation.* Where they go from there is what matters. As Paul said, “Each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Verse 12) And that applies to all of us. We will answer to God if we have been judgmental instead of making every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.

Show him the way by the way you respond to Jesus.*

Be Still - January 30, 2025

Jeremiah 10: 19 Woe to me because of my injury! My wound is incurable! Yet I said to myself, “This is my sickness, and I must endure it.” (NIV)

Most problems don’t get better by being ignored.*

There is plenty of scriptural precedent for bringing our troubles to God. In Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18: 1-8), we might suppose that persistence is a key factor in getting relief. But Jesus may have been advocating less for persistence and more for bringing your complaint to the proper authority. If an unjust judge can bring you justice, how much more can you count on your heavenly Father to hear your pleas?

Paul certainly doesn’t appear to have been of the “persistent school of thought.” He prayed three times for deliverance from his mysterious “thorn in the flesh” and then it seems he just learned to live with it.  From nagging, to being content after three tries, on the persistence spectrum these two examples are still far removed from Jeremiah’s lament. Rather than ask for healing – whether many times or three – he has just decided to live with his affliction.

While I wouldn’t advise anyone to follow Jeremiah’s example, I'm not sure if Paul or the widow should be the model for asking God to deliver us from our problems, either. Is there comfort in accepting what we can’t change? Is it wrong to give up hope?

As someone said, “There is no magic formula for answered prayer.”* The Bible tells us that God hears the cry of the righteous (Psalm 34: 15); those who ask in Jesus’ name (John 14: 13); those who ask believing (Mark 11: 24); and those who ask according to God’s will (I John 5: 14).* If these conditions are met, in a faithful and appropriately persistent manner, God will answer your prayers. His answer may be immediate delivery; or perhaps he will ask you to wait. He may choose to answer by helping you live an abundant life in spite of your “thorn in the flesh.” Whatever his answer, “Woe to me!” doesn't seem like it should be our final cry to God.

Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don’t.*

Be Still - January 29, 2025

Isaiah 58: 11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (NIV)

God reaches forth in unbelievable shows of generosity and pours himself into moments that we expect and into moments that we don’t expect.*

Among the tribes of the Plains Indians, there used to be a loosely organized “cult” whose members were committed to behavior that was contrary to the norm. According to Wikipedia, they “turned all social conventions into their opposites.” The Contraries’ bizarre behavior was often accompanied by inverse speech - saying the opposite of what they meant. Having a conversation with one of them must have been a lot of fun!

It might help us to appreciate the beauty of this verse in Isaiah if we apply some inverse speech to it. In the language of the Contrary Warriors, Isaiah might have said: The Lord will not give you any direction. He will leave you unsatisfied, sun-burned, weak, and thirsty. He is unreliable. Why would anyone worship a deity like that? And yet, idol-worshippers did exactly that. We may not know anyone who actually worships a graven image, but we all know someone who seems to worship nothing (or everything, or just things). The result is the same: directionless, unfulfilled, weak, and alone.

Read the verse again and revel in the refreshing, inviting imagery. Yes, that is the God we choose to worship. To do otherwise seems to be the epitome of contrary behavior.

The idolater simply imagines a conception of God and then acts as though his conceptions are true.*